Apparatus for marking currency for safes, &amp;c.



No. 784,805. PATENTED MAR. i4, 1905. A. A. PBTERSBN.

APPARATUS FOR MARKING CURRENCY POR SAFES, 5w. APPLIUATION Hup DEG. 21, 190s.

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#fla/ J Rie/51e@ 9399MB f by l l alqiforgcys UNITED STATES Patented Maren 14, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR MARKING CURRENCY FOR SAFES, to.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 784,805, dated March 14, 1905. Application filed December 2l, 1903. Serial No. 186,0;14.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARNOLD ARTHUR PE- TERsEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Muscatine, in the county of Muscatine and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for Marking' Currency, of which the following is a specilication.

The object of the present invention is to provide a means for marking paper money, valuable papers, and the like contained in a safe or similar strong box which may be attacked by burglars, so that even should the burglars gain access to the currency7 it will be marked in such manner as to render it useless for ordinary commercial purposes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a means for cutting, stamping, perforating, or otherwise mutilating' paper currency should the safe or other receptacle in which it is contained be disturbed in any manner.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed outl in the appended claims, it beingv understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing' any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional perspective view illustrating a eurrency-marking device constructed in accordance with the invention and showing the same in position in the safe. Fig'. 2 is a detail perspective view of one of the marking-dies. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the casing in which the currency is placed. Fig. 4 is an elevation, partly in section, illustratingaslight modification of theinvention. Fig. 5 illustrates a further modification of the invention adapted especially for the marking of large quantities of money.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

ln the main embodiment of the invention there is employed a box or 'casing l, preferably formed of steel or other strong metal of sufiicient thickness to withstand the strains to which it is subjected when the mutilating operation is being carried on. The casing is preferably rectangular in form an'd is provided with a bottom portion 2 and a front opening 3, through which the bills may be introduced to the interior of the casing. By preference the casing is made of a length and width suiiicient to receive a bank-note.

ln the lower portion of the casing are arranged two plates 4 and 5, each of which is preferably provided with slotted edge portions 6 for the reception of vertical ribs 7, arranged on the inner walls of the casing and forming g'uides for the movements of the plates. rlhe plates are each provided with handle members 8, although under ordinary circumstances the upper plate only will be provided with a handle, and between these two plates is placed the currency. Each plate constitutes a die member, one a male die and the other a female die, and the dies may be formed in any desired manner, being provided with simple perforating members, needles, knifebladc cutters, or they may be arranged to forni the name or initials of the owner of the safe, so that the mutilated notes may bc afterward properly identilied. The currency rests between these two plates, and in the event of an attack on the safe or other receptacle within which the casing is disposed one ofthe plates will be forced toward the other, and the currency between them will be positively cut, stamped, perforated, or otherwise mutilated, so that the burglar if successful will come -into possession of currency which will be useless to him, although redeemable by the owner in the usual manner.

The two perforating or stamping plates may, as before observed, be provided with means for cutting' the currency, or they may be of seal-like form in order to impress a distinctive mark on cach note, and while mechanism of different kinds may bc employed for forcing one of the plates toward the other it is preferred to accomplish this by the employment of an explosive compound, which in addition to mutilating the currency will also tend to frighten the burglar.

In the construction shown in Fig. 3 ablock 9 is arranged near the upper portion of the casing, the block being held up in position by small frictional springs 10, so as not to interfere with the raising' of the plate when notes are to be introduced between the two dies. In the space above the block 9 is placed a charge of powder or similar explosive compound, and this may be in cartridge form, if necessary, and may be exploded by a cap 12, placed immediately beneath a cocked hammer 13, the arrangement shown being' one which is ordinarily followed in some classes of firearms.

The hammer may be set olf by any means, and in one construction the inner wall of the safe carries eyelets 1a, through which pass wires 15, arranged around all of the walls and top and bottom of the safe and connected to the trigger 13, so that in the event of an explosion orin forcing of the door or wall of the safe the movement will be communicative through the wire to the trigger and the hammer will set oil'l the explosive charge, forcing the block 9 down against the plate 5 with suflieient force to effect the mutilating of the currency between the two dies. The wiring may also be passed through the usual fireproof lining found in some classes of safes or may be otherwise arranged so that any movement will be mechanically transmitted to the trigger. As a further modification of the invention I have illustrated a pair of sparking electrodes 17, forming the terminals of a circuit 18 that includes a source of electrical energy-19, and adjacent to the door and other portions of the safe are spaced contacts 20, which are moved into engagement with each other to complete the circuit, and thus create a spark at the electrodes to set off the charge.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig. 4, wherein two seal-dies 21 are shown. The lower die rests on a support, and the upper die is placed on top of the' bundle of currency to be protected, said upper die having a stem on which bears a pivoted lever 22. The free end ofthe lever 22 is connected by a tension-spring 21 to a iixed point, and said spring normally tends to force the dies together to impress a seal on the currency. This movement, however, is prevented by a pivoted catch 22', carrying an armature 23, arranged within the iield of force of an electromagnet 24. The electromagnet is connected in a circuit similar to that shown in Fig. 3, so that in the event of the circuit being completed by an attack on the safe or other receptacle the catch will be withdrawn and the spring will instantly move the seal-dies toward each other and impress a seal on the notes.

In some cases the amount of currency may be too great to permit effective mutilation by a single set of dies, and in Fig. 5 is illustrated a further modification in which plural dies are used and the currency divided into small bundles, so that it may be conveniently placed between them and effect the desired mutilation. l/Vith a device of this class it is possible to so m utilate bank-notes and other currency that any unauthorized person will lind ita dangerous possession, while the owner by proper statement of the circumstances may of course redeem the money in the usual manner.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is4 1. In a protective device for use in connection with safes or other closed receptacles, a normally inactive mutilating member arranged adjacent to the currency to be mutilated, a normally inactive operating' means for said member, and mechanism forcausing such means to become effective and force the mutilating member into engagement with the currency.

2. In a protecting device for use in connection With safes or other closed receptacles, a currency-mutilating member in contact with or adjacent to the currency to be mutilated, a normally inactive operating means for said member, and mechanism operable by an attack on the safe or receptacle for causing the operating means to become effective and force the mutilating member into engagement with the currency.

3. In mechanism of the class described, a cutting or perforating member disposed adjacent to a quantity of currency to be mutilated; a normally inactive operating means in the form of an explosive mixture adjacent to said member, and means for exploding such mixture and thereby forcing the member into engagement with the currency.

et. In a protecting devicefor use in connection with safesor other closed receptacles, a currency mutilating member, an explosive compound disposed adjacent to and serving when exploded to cause operative contact between said member and the currency, and means for automatically firing said compound.

In a protective device for use in connection with safes or other closed receptacles, a currency-mutilating member, a casing for containing' the member and currency, an explosive compound disposed within the casing, and means for firing said compound.

6. In a protecting device for use in connection with safes and other closed receptacles, a casing for the reception of currency, a marking-die therein, a block disposed within the casing and forming the movable wall of an explosion-chamber, an explosive compound disposed within the chamber, and a means for automatically firing said compound.

7. In a protecting device for use in connection with safes and other closed receptacles, a casing for the reception of currency, a pair of IOO IIO

marking-dies disposed Within the chamber and In testimony that I claimthevforegoing1 as my between which the Currency normally rests, oWn I llave hereto alXed my signature in the the upper ot' said dies being movable, a bloek presence ot' two Witnesses.

guided within the casing and forming the mov- ARNOLD ARTHUR PETERSEN. 5 able Wall of an explosion-chamber, and an eX- Witnesses:

plosive compound disposed Within said cham- J; J. COADY,

bei'. A. WV. MORGAN. 

